How much to charge for a service call: work it out from your own numbers

Charge enough for a service call to cover what the visit costs you before you’ve fixed anything: the drive there and back, the time to diagnose, and your share of overhead for that hour, plus your profit. Work that number out from your own costs, then check it against what other shops in your area charge, and set it a little above your cost floor, not below the cheapest competitor. There’s no national “right” price; a fee that works in a rural county can lose money in a big city.

What does a service call actually cost you?

Add up what one ordinary call costs before any repair starts:

1. Drive time: the round trip, at what an hour of your (or your tech’s) time costs, including payroll taxes if it’s an employee.
2. Vehicle cost: the miles there and back at your vehicle cost per mile. The IRS standard mileage rate is a reasonable stand-in if you don’t know yours; see our mileage post.
3. Diagnosis time: the first part of the visit, finding the problem and explaining it.
4. Overhead per hour: insurance, phone, software, the truck payment, tools, marketing. Add up a year of it and divide by the hours you actually bill.

That total is your floor. Below it, every call where the customer says “I’ll think about it” loses you money.

How do you turn that into a price?

Add the profit you need on top, then round to a number you can say on the phone with a straight face.

Say a call is 40 minutes of driving, 30 minutes of diagnosis, 20 miles round trip, and your overhead works out to $30 an hour of billed time. If your time costs $45 an hour: about $52 of time, $15 of miles at 76 cents, and $35 of overhead comes to about $102. With a margin on top, a fee in the $125 to $150 range covers it. Your numbers will be different; that’s the point of running them.

How do you check it against your market?

Look at what local shops in your trade charge for the same visit. Some publish their service call or trip fee on their website; others will tell you on the phone. You’re not trying to match the cheapest; you’re checking that your number isn’t wildly out of line, and finding out whether others credit the fee toward the repair.

If your cost floor is well above what everyone charges, that’s useful to know too: look at your drive times, your service area, or your overhead, not just the price.

Should the fee come off the repair?

Both policies work. Crediting it toward the repair makes “yes” easier and rewards customers who go ahead. Keeping it separate protects you on long diagnoses and small fixes. Whichever you choose, say it before you book and print it on the estimate.

What about after hours and emergencies?

Set a separate, higher fee for evenings, weekends and emergencies, because those calls cost you more. Tell the customer the after-hours fee before you dispatch.

How do you put it on every invoice without thinking about it?

Save it once as a line item (“Service call”, “After-hours service call”) at your price. In FieldFlow, saved items go on an estimate or invoice in a tap, so the fee is the same on every job and nobody forgets it on a busy Friday. If you credit the fee toward the repair, add the credit as its own line so the customer sees it.

Then send the invoice before you leave, with a pay link; our post on sending an invoice from your phone walks through it.

The short version

Work out your cost floor from drive time, miles, diagnosis and overhead; add your margin; check it against local shops; set a separate after-hours fee; and save it as a line item so it’s on every job. FieldFlow keeps your saved prices, estimates and invoices in one app at $19/month for the whole business, with a 90-day free trial. See estimates and invoices.

Questions owners ask

What is a service call fee?

A flat charge for showing up and diagnosing the problem, before any repair. Trades call it a service call, trip charge, dispatch fee or diagnostic fee. It pays for the drive and the first part of the visit whether or not the customer goes ahead with the repair.

Should the service call fee go toward the repair?

Either policy works if you state it up front. Crediting it toward the repair makes it easier to say yes; keeping it separate is simpler and protects you on calls where you spend an hour diagnosing a $30 part. Pick one and print it on the estimate.

Should I charge more after hours?

It's reasonable to, because an evening or weekend call costs you more: overtime for a tech, or your own time off. Set a separate after-hours fee and tell the customer before you dispatch, not on the invoice.

How do I tell the customer about the fee?

On the phone, before you book: the amount, what it covers, and whether it comes off the repair. Then put it on the estimate and the invoice as its own line, so nothing is a surprise.